Light-emitting devices (LEDs), both organic and inorganic, offer the promise of more efficient lighting with concomitant societal benefits that accrue from reduced electrical consumption. Although LEDs have theoretical efficiency limits far in excess of current incandescent and fluorescent lamps, they still are hampered by thermal management issues. This seeming paradox exists because existing light bulbs, especially incandescent lamps, convert their waste energy essentially directly into light at near-infrared wavelengths which is radiated from the bulb as out-of-band radiation. In contrast, solid-state lighting devices such as LEDs convert waste energy into thermal excitation of the device substrate. In contrast with incandescent bulbs, which work for the very reason that the filament has been heated to high temperatures, LEDs lose efficiency as the device substrate is heated, further compounding the problem. Because existing lamps have an inherent heat rejection mechanism, there has been no need to date to provide lighting fixtures with a means to manage the heat produced by the bulb. This is not the case for future fixtures that will utilize solid-state lamps.
There is therefore a need for an improved mounting fixture for solid-state lamps that provides heat management functions.